The Girl In Question
by ringanybells
Summary: Set post 'Don't Cry for Me.' Mary gets an unexpected visitor while in the hospital. How will Marshall handle the newest man to enter Mary's hospital room? slight M


_[A/N: just a little warning, you might get about half way through this and think that I've made Marshall a little OOC. I disagree, but if that happens, just remember back to _Hoosier Daddy _when Marshall offers to help protect Leo or in _Trojan Horst_, when he made his famous promise. He would totally do anything for her, especially this. Also, that finale was so upsetting. Seeing Marshall collapse in the hallway after Mary crossed through the double doors, all i could think about was how distraught he looked. Here's hoping next season sees an end to this sham of an engagement.]_

The Girl in Question

The man stood in the shadows, watching as the tall marshal disappeared around the corner, ushering the two women out of the hospital. It was rare to find the blonde marshal's room empty. Her partner rarely left her side, and when he wasn't there it was her mother and sister visiting. Occasionally her boss would visit, with the brunette secretary or the homicide detective. The ball player was frequently found at her bedside as well. But at night, after dinner, the marshal would leave to take Mary's mother and sister home, and the room was empty.

He slid down the hall, trying to be silent. He shouldn't be here, but he had to come. He looked into the blonde's hospital room, finally empty. He slipped into the room and up to Mary's bed. His heart raised into his throat. He took in the tubes and machines, the young woman looking pale and small in the bed. He leaned down and took her hand in his.

"Hey sweetheart, fancy seeing you here." He couldn't keep the tears from falling. He sat back in the chair that was usually occupied by her partner. "You know I've pictured this moment for, God, almost thirty years, but it never happened like this. You were always awake, and usually yelling at me. I don't have much time here, but I had to come. You probably can't hear me, but I wanted to tell you, I am sorry things didn't turn out quite the way I thought they would after I left. I didn't expect to put so much on you. I thought my leaving would make things easier, I thought your mother would wake up and stop dreaming. If I had known how she would behave, I would have taken you and your sister with me; I would have figured something better for you."

He leaned closer, tears running down his face. He hadn't spoken to Mary face to face since she was eight. It was harder than he had imagined sitting here and staring at her as she lay there motionless. "I never meant for you to support her the way you have been. She was supposed to be the adult. But I am so proud of you and the way you rose to the challenges this life has given you. You're amazing, my darling girl. I didn't realize how hard it all was until you ran off with that boy Mark. You were so desperate for someone to love you with no expectations, no exceptions. That's why I wrote to you, I wanted you to know you aren't alone."

"She's not alone," Stan had been waiting downstairs to take Jinx and Brandi home. Marshall had come back upstairs to spend a few minutes with Mary alone. When he had seen the man in the room with her, he had frozen. He'd heard the words he was saying and he had put two and two together.

James 'Wiley' Shannon froze. He knew he was caught. He had spent the last twenty odd years in hiding trying to avoid this very situation. He had known it was a possibility when he decided to come see his daughter. He was about to give up his very coveted freedom, but he couldn't bring himself to regret it. "Can I have a moment to say goodbye before you take me in?"

Marshall stepped up next to Mary's bed, across from her father. "I'm not going to arrest you."

James looked up, "You're not?" He had known a few cops in his time, he had trusted fewer. No law enforcement agent with half a brain would allow a man who had spent twenty years on the FBI's most wanted list to just walk away.

"No, I'm not." Marshall had eyes only for his partner, searching for any sign that she was waking.

"Sorry, if I'm a tad doubtful. Might I inquire as to why?" As long as it had been since he'd seen his little girl up close, his eyes were now trained on her partner. He needed to figure out the younger man's game, if he had any chance to develop a return strategy.

"I have my reasons."

James almost laughed at the response. The marshal was being evasive and vague. James refused to let himself believe he would be allowed to walk out of this room without some new jewelry. Still, his interest was piqued. "My daughter is lying here in a hospital bed, indulge me."

"Alright," Marshall's eyes sought the other man's for a moment before returning to Mary once again. "For one, she'd never forgive me." Marshall gave the most obvious, the most important reason first.

"Come again?" Disbelief colored his voice. He'd abandoned his daughter at age eight. He was fairly certain if she was awake right now, she would have cuffed him herself.

"For some reason, despite all the pain you've put her through, she loves you. I think you might be the only person she loves unconditionally. Everything she's put up with and been through in her life has been for you. You asked her to take care of Jinx and Brandi, and she's spent her life doing just that, no matter what it does to her. I'm not sure there's anything you could do to lose her love. If I arrested you, it's possible she'd never talk to me again."

James took that information in. He wasn't sure if he believed the other man, but he knew that if anyone knew Mary's mind, it was this man. "That may be so. But you're a U.S. Marshal, you're job is to arrest criminals, not cater to your partner's whims."

"You don't know my partner, but what would it say for me if I were to arrest you now?" Marshall presented his psychological argument next.

James was confused.

"As humans, we are imbued with, above almost any other, the desire to protect that which we love. Despite the pain you have caused your daughter, you do love her. Standing here, seeing her in this condition, is probably one of the most painful positions you've ever found yourself in." Marshall didn't add that it was the most painful he'd personally ever found himself in. He looked up to see the other man's response. James simply nodded, so Marshall continued. "What kind of man could witness you in this pain and use it to his advantage? How could I take this moment when you are focused solely on your daughter and turn it to further my own ends? It is a truly cruel man who could see the anguish in your eyes at this your most vulnerable moment and use it to take your most valued freedom."

James was speechless. He understood Marshall's words, but he had spent decades in the world of criminals. He was part of a world where exploiting the weaknesses of others was a way of life. He'd never met a man who presented such a fervent belief of nobility and was happy to know such a man had found his daughter. "Is that all?"

Marshall considered keeping his final reason hidden, the one that was completely personal. But He had just witnessed Mary's father bare his soul, how could he himself not? "No, I have another."

"Will you share it?" James was curious what more this man who shared his daughter's days would say.

"She's been my partner for almost four years. Mary, she's an incredible woman, probably the most incredible one I've ever met. But she's not very trusting, she's not very open. It didn't take me long to figure out that you were the root of most of those problems, but it wasn't till recent events that she actually shared what happened when she was eight. I've wished more than once for your presence, almost as much as she has probably. I've wanted you to tell her that the world is not her responsibility; that she doesn't have to protect Jinx and Brandi from everything. I've hoped that you'd turn up to tell her it wasn't her fault you left, no matter what she thinks. I've asked that you brave arrest to sooth her heart, let her know that it's okay to let people in, to love. I've begged for five minutes in a room with you to show you just some of the pain that you've inflicted on this girl whom you claim to love." Marshall did not check his words, he just let them flow. "I've wondered for weeks how someone as selfless as my partner could come from people like Jinx, who can't recognize the sacrifices Mary has made, and you, a guy who saved his own skin at the expense of his daughter's heart"

Marshall looked up to find James' eyes on his own. "I never in a million years thought you would risk your own skin to see her. I doubted your love for her, even though I knew the depths of hers. You being here is proof enough for me that you love her, that you were willing to risk your freedom for a chance to tell her all the things I've wanted you to say, that she has needed to hear. As far as I'm concerned, that is more important than a warrant."

"You must love my daughter an awful lot to put your career on the line for her, to let me walk out of this room." James eyed the marshal, trying to gauge if his words had hit the target.

"I do." Marshall didn't even consider dissembling. If ever he had doubted just how deep his feelings for Mary ran, the last few hours had shown him. Seeing Mary on that gurney, his own heart had stopped. The hours that followed had been the worst he had ever experienced, worse even than the ones where she had been missing. As the tears had rolled down his face, and the possible future had loomed in his mind, he had finally admitted to himself just what Mary meant to him: everything.

"Are you going to tell her I was here?" James looked down at his daughter. Now that he was standing so close to her, holding her hand, he wasn't sure he'd be able to walk away again. He wanted nothing more than to sit in this chair next to her bed until she woke up, to see the fire he knew lit her waking eyes.

"I think maybe you should tell her." Marshall knew he was taking his career into his hands by offering this man a chance to not only walk out of this room today but by giving him an invitation to return. But, for Mary, he would risk so much more.

"Are you willing to let me walk out of this room a free man more than once?" James was doubtful once again.

"I might be willing to make sure this room is empty for you once she wakes up. If she arrests you, or asks me to do it, that's different. I can give you the window, but I can't promise more than that." Marshall spoke honestly. He knew what Mary's father meant to her, he would allow James a chance to speak to her. But if she wanted him arrested, Marshall wouldn't hesitate.

"You're a good man, Marshall, I'm glad my daughter has someone like you to support her." James reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He had business cards with a prepaid cell number for just such an occasion. He extended it to Marshall. "You can reach me at that number when she wakes up. I know I have no right to ask for more, but if it looks as though things might take a turn for the worst…" James didn't want to say the words. But if his daughter was going to die, he wanted a chance to hold her hand one last time.

"I'll call." Marshall set his jaw, trying not to imagine how much worse things could get.

"Thank you," The sincerity in James Shannon's voice was obvious. His daughter's partner had just given him the greatest gift possible, a chance to speak to his daughter. He leaned in and kissed Mary's forehead, lingering a second to compose himself before speaking. "Goodnight sweetheart, I love you. One day all the rules will bend, you and I will meet again, I promise." He stood straight and backed away. But when he reached the door, he paused and turned back to Marshall, "A piece of advice?"

Marshall turned to face the other man, Mary's hand still clutched in his. "What's that?"

"Take it from someone who knows, once you have her in your life, don't ever let her go." James locked his eyes on Marshall's.

"I don't intend to." Marshall resisted the desire to look at Mary again, keeping his eyes on her father instead.

"Tell her how you feel, Marshall. Don't risk losing her without ever really having her," and with that, he was gone.

Marshall stared at where James had stood for a few moments longer before turning back to Mary. He walked around the bed and sank into the chair there. He leaned forward and picked up her hand once again. "I love you, Mare, don't leave me."

There was a slight pressure on his hand, the one holding hers. She hadn't woken, but she'd responded. And that was enough to make Marshall's heart swell. He had promised not to leave her, and he knew she had done the same.

_You and I will meet again, _

_When we're least expecting it._

_Somewhere in some far off place,_

_I will recognize your face._

_I won't say goodbye, my friend,_

_Because you and I will meet again..._

_Someday all the rules will bend,_

_And you and I will meet again..._

_I don't know how, I don't know when,_

_but you and I will meet again._

_[ It's me again. The lyrics at the end are _You and I Will Meet Again_ by Tom Petty. I kind of stole one of the lines from it for James, it just seemed to fit. This is the first fic I've written that has really gotten to me, because I understand pretty well Mary's feelings for her father. I took quite a few liberties with James because we don't know much of anything about him besides what was in the letters, which I used to set his tone. His words, for the most part, are all the ones I wish I could hear. I'm always open to reviews, and even con/crit, but just in case, can you take it easy on this one. To quote the classics, _This time, it's personal._ Thanks a lot for reading, and I promise I have at least three more on the way, to be posted soon I hope.]_


End file.
